Housing Minister Mark Prisk’s brave request for a grilling from Coffee House readers generated a very enthusiastic response. Here are the minister’s answers to your questions.
House Prices
Q: What will the Government be doing to rebalance things back towards private buyers and away from the BTL speculators that have driven the market up to such an extent that private buyers are priced out? (Specifically, get the Treasury to end the tax breaks introduced under Labour that drive this, and level the playing field for ordinary buyers).
A: It’s important not to overstate this problem. In 2011, buy to let accounted for just 12 % of all mortgages. And of course it’s important to have a ready supply of rented accommodation for people who want or need that flexibility. The real problem that I’m focused on is the housing shortage we have in this country. We’re putting in £570 million to a Get Britain Building fund which has the potential to build 16,000 new homes, we’re making more land available to developers, and we’re working with councils and developers to get homes built more quickly on large sites.
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